Wire annealing spider



June 8, 1965 .1. WHITTEN 3,188,067

WIRE ANNEALING SPIDER Filed Jan. 2, 1964 INVENTOR. Jam L MW rre/v UnitedStates Patent 3,188,667 WERE ANNEALING SPIDER James L. Whitten,Lakewood, @hio, assiguor to The Alloy Engineering Company Filed Jan. 2,1964, Ser. No. 335,104 10 Claims. (Cl. 266--2) This invention relates tothe metal heat treating art and is particularly concerned with a newspider for holding coils of wire while the wire is being annealed.

Various devices have been provided heretofore for holding coils of wireduring annealing but none of these devices has been entirelysatisfactory. Frequently, these devices oxidized during annealing withthe formation of scale which scratched the wire and'certain of thesedevices engaged the inner sides of the coils in such a way as to changethe shape of the coils. Also, these devices did not retain their shapein use but twisted and inwardly deformed, making removal of the coilsextremely difficult.

The present invention aims to provide a spider for coils of wire whichwill not scratch the wire or deform the coils and which will expediteloading and unloading of the coils and facilitate uniformity of heatingof the coils. In addition, the present spider is constructed so that itdoes not twist or inwardly deform so that coilsare facilely removed evenafter extensive use.

The present invention will be better understood by those skilled in theart from the following specification taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary, side elevational view partly in section of apreferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical cross sectional view taken on line 22 of FIGURE1;

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the device of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a modified form ofthe present invention; and,

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary, elevational view of the preferred embodimentof the present invention as viewed from a different side than is shownin FIGURE 1.

The spider of FIGURES 1 to 3 and 5 comprises a metal base plate 1 havinga central aperture 2. An open-ended metal tube 5 is attached at itslower end to the base plate 1 around the aperture 2 and at its upperend, to a fitting 7 which has a central aperture 8. Preferably, the baseplate 1, the tube 5, and the fitting 7 are attached to one another byweldin g.

Several tapered, somewhat parabolic-shaped staves 10, preferably three,are attached to thebase plate 1 and to the tube 5, as by welding, andextend from their lower, larger ends at the base plate to their smallerends which are'adjacent the top end of the tube. As shown in FIG URES 2and 3, each stave 10 has a semi-circular or curved outer portion 11 andstraight side portions 12 extending in diverging straight lines from theserni-circular portions 11 so as to be somewhat parabolic shaped incross-section. In another manner of description, the staves may be saidto be somewhat U-sha-ped in cross-section with the straight sides of theU diverging from the curved portion of the U. The radius of curvature ofthe circular portion 11 is large so that the stave is not pointed anddeformation of the coils stacked on the spider is thereby avoided.

As may be seen in FIGURE 1, the outermost longitudinal surface of thecircular portion 11 of each stave tapers inwardly toward the top of thetube 5. Also, the longitudinal edges of the staves, where attached tothe tube, converge inwardly toward the top of the tube 5 so as toprovide an elongated, somewhat trapezoidal form of connection to thetube.

An axis 13 of each stave 10, defined for example by the focuses ofsuccessive sections or by the centers of curvature of succesive curvedportions, converges with a longitudinal axis of the cylindrical tube 5toward the top of the spider. The staves 10 are attached, as by welding,to the tube and to the base plate in circumferentially-spaced relationso as to be independent of one another.

The outermost surface of the upper ends 17 of the staves taper sharplyto the tube 5. The longitudinal edges of the staves 10 converge sharplyat the upper ends 17 of the staves to provide a tapered, somewhatparabolic connection to the tube 5 at the upper end of the somewhattrapezoidal connection provided by the converging edges of side portions12.

The tube 5 is provided with openings 14, 15 through its side into thespaces within the upper and lower ends of the staves 10. The openings14, 15 provide communication between the interior of the tube 5 and thespace within the staves 10 and eliminate dead air spaces within thestaves. The tube 5 is also provided with a plurality of verticallyspaced openings 16 through its side between the staves.

A ring-like metal stripper plate 20 surrounds the tube 5 and the staves10 and rests on the base 1. Preferably, this stripper plate 20 isprovided with reinforcing means on its underside. The reinforcing meansshown are metal bars 21 which are positioned along the outer portion ofthe plate 20 and outside of the base plate 1 and are at tached to thestripper plate in any suitable manner, for example, as by welding.

FIGURE 4 shows a base plate 1a which is quite like base plate 1 ofFIGURE 1 but is somewhat larger in its outside diameter so as to engageand support a stack of coils of wire around the staves 10 and the tube 5without the-use of a stripper plate.

It will be understood that the spider disclosed herein is to position aplurality of coils of wire while they are being annealed. To that end,the spider may be placed on a base in a suitable annealing furnace andthe coils of wire are then stacked on the spider, as by being loweredover the tube and the staves and being supported on the stripper plate20 or the base plate 1a, as the case may be.

When the coils have been assembled on the spider, the annealing furnaceis closed and hot gases are admitted into the interior of the furnaceoutside of the coils. These gases flow upwardly in contact with thecoils, some of it passing through top opening 8 into tube 5 and flowinglongitudinally down through the tube and out through the opening 2 inthe base plate, and some of it flowing Y laterally between the turns ofthe coils and through the openings 16 into the interior of tube 5 andthence out through the opening 2. The gases which flow in contact withthe coils and through the turns of the coils tend to heat all turns ofthe coils. The gases which flow longitudinally through the tube impartheat to the tube. The tube portions between the side portions 12 of eachstave transfers heat into the space within the stave to impart some heatto the staves and such heat is in part transmitted to the coils.

When the coils have been annealed and the furnace is cooled sufficientlyto remove the coils, they may be stripped from the spider of FIGURE 1 bycausing relative longitudinal movement of the base plate 10 and tube 5and the stripper plate 20 with the coils thereon. Such movement may becaused by preventing movement of the base plate and lifting the stripperplate, or by preventing 1 movement of the stripper plate and moving thebase and tube out of the coils and stripper plate. The spider of FIGURE4 may be unloaded by lifting the coils off one or more at a time by asuitable lifting means or by dumping the spider on its side. Since thediameter of the spider decreases from the base plate to its other end, asmallamount of relative movement of the coils and staves will create aclearance between the coils and staves and minimize marking of thecoils. This tapering construction of the staves together with therounding of the upper ends of the staves facilitate loading of the coilsonto the spider.

The staves it? with their spaced non-parallel connections to the tube 5reinforce and stiffen the tube 5. The tube 5' reinforces the staves 10.Forces exerted against the semi-circular portions 11 are almost entirelytransferred to the tube 5 by the straight side portions 12 so that thestaves do not collapse when in use. Thus, the staves 1 and the tubetogether resist collapsing and inward deformation. This is especiallyimportant when the coils are removed by dumping the spider on its side,lifting the base end of the spider, and shaking the spider, since thismethod of coil removal stresses the spider as a beam as well as tendingto collapse the spider inwardly.

The preferred three staves in their triangularly orientated, equallyspaced independent positions around the tube 5 provide a maximum ofstrength to the spider and facilitate coil removal. When the spider isdumped and a hook engages its base end through the opening 2 and raisesthe base end, the spider will often rotate by force of gravity until onestave is pointing directly down. In this position especially, the coilstend to sag below the down stave and slip from the spider. Also, in thisposition, the staves greatly resist longitudinal bending of the spider.The use of three staves also provides a minimum of contact with thecoils to lessen the chances of scratching or otherwise deforming thecoils.

The staves are made preferably of a heat resisting, nonoxidizing metal.One metal found suitable for this purpose is a chromium nickel alloyoften designated as A181 #304. The base plate, tube and fitting may bemade of a mild steel. Since the staves resist oxidation, they will nottend to scale and will not scratch the wire coils when they are removedfrom the spider. Moreover, the staves retain a smooth finish andeliminate tangled wires which often occurs when the wires are caused toroll over one another as they are moved along spiders having scalesurfaces. In addition, the alloy staves give the spider a great deal ofstrength with relatively thin stock so that less metal is required whichenhances heat transfer during heating and cooling of the spider. Therelatively thin staves, which may be on the order of threesixteenthsinch thick act as heat exchanger fins for the tube 5, which may be onthe order of one-half inch thick.

The present spider construction is also economical of manufacture.Substantially, the entire stave 10 is formed, as by pressing, from anelongated, trapezoidal shaped sheet. The uppermost ends 17 of the stavesare separately pressed from a small triangular sheet and then aresecured, as by welding, onto the end'of the stave formed from theelongated trapezoidal sheet. Thus, the staves are not fabricated fromspecial shapes which are relatively expensive especially in alloymetals. In addition, no special jigs or clamps are required for assemblyand all connection points are Well exposed for facile connection, as bywelding.

Having thus described this invention in such full, clear, concise andexact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which itpertains to make and use the same, and having set forth the best modecontemplated of carrying out this invention, I state that the subjectmatter which I regard as being my invention is particularly pointed outand distinctly claimed in what is claimed, it being understoodthatequivalents or modifications of, or substitutions for, parts of theabove specifically described embodiment of the invention may be madewithout departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in whatis claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. A spider for holding coils of wire during annealing one end to saidplate, a plurality of elongated somewhat U-shaped staves, each stavehaving lower edges attached to said plate and longitudinal side edgesattached to the outer surface of said tube, the attached longitudinalside edges of one stave being circumferentially spaced from the adjacentattached side edges of the adjacent staves so that each stave isindependent of the other staves, and a disc-like fitting attached to theother end of said tube.

2. The combination of elements set forth in claim 1 in which the baseplate and fitting are provided with central apertures opening into thespace within said tube.

3. The combination of elements set forth in claim 1 in which there areopenings through the tube into the spaces within said staves.

4. The combination of elements set forth in claim 1 in which the tube isopen ended and has vertically spaced openings through its side wallbetween the staves.

5. The combination of elements set forth in claim 1 in which the fittinghas an opening into the upper end of the tube, the base plate hasopenings into the lower end of the tube, the tube has openings into thespaces within the staves, and the tube has vertically spaced openingsthrough its sides betweensaid staves.

6. The combination of elements set forth in claim 1 in which the stavestaper from the plate toward their free ends and in which a ring-likestripper plate rests on said plate in coil upporting position.

7. A spider for holding coils of wire during annealing comprising a baseplate having a central opening, an openended tube secured at one end tosaid base plate around said central opening, a plurality of three stavesdisposed adjacent the tube in equally spaced, triangular relation, eachof said staves having a generally curved outermost portion and a pair ofelongated side portions extending in diverging planes substantiallystraight from said curved portion so as to be somewhat parabolic insection; said diverging side portions terminating at longitudinal sideedges which are attached to the tube; and an attached longitudinal edgeof one stave being circumferentially comprising a base plate, anopen-ended tube attached at spaced from an attached longitudinal edge ofan adjacent stave so that each stave is independent of the other staves.

8. The combination of elements set forth in claim 7 in which the stavesare made of a heat resisting, non-oxidizing metal.

9. The combination of elements set forth in claim 7 in which theelongated curved surfaces of the staves converge from the base platetoward the other end of the tube, and the longitudinal edges of the sideportions of each stave converge toward said other end of the tube.

10. The combination of element set forth in claim 7 in which tubeportions between adjacent staves have Vertically spaced openings for thelateral circulation of air through coils stacked around the spider.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 302,591 7/84Rivers 242 7s 415,391 11/89 Matteson 294-67 2,043,456 6/36 Watrous263-47 2,174,642. 10/39 Toll 266-5 2,278,109 3/42 Karp 263-47 2,310,9912/43 Pierce 263-47 2,334,439 11/43 Pierce 294-67 2,409,742 10/46Dougherty 263-47 2,601,443 6/52 Miller 263-49 2,743,098 4/56 Berquist266-2 2,834,589 5/58 King 263-47 FOREIGN PATENTS 469,229 11/50 Canada.

JOHN F. CAMPBELL, Primary Examiner.

1. A SPIDER FOR HOLDING COILS OF WIRE DURING ANNEALING COMPRISING A BASEPLATE, AN OPEN-ENDED TUBE ATTACHED AT ONE END TO SAID PLATE, A PLURALITYOF ELONGATED SOMEWHAT U-SHAPED STAVES, EACH STAVE HAVING LOWER EDGESATTACHED TO SAID PLATE AND LONGITUDINAL SIDE EDGES ATTACHED TO THE OUTERSURFACE OF SAID TUBE, THE ATTACHED LONGITUDINAL SIDE EDGES OF ONE STAVEBEING CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED FROM THE ADJACENT ATTACHED SIDE EDGES OFTHE ADJACENT STAVES SO THAT EACH STAVE IS INDEPENDENT OF THE OTHERSTAVES, AND A DISC-LIKE FITTING ATTACHED TO THE OTHER END OF SAID TUBE.